El dia de la canalla - The kids' day

Dissabte passat una d'aquelles situacions peculiars...estava voltant en bici per Tokyo, a Akasaka, un districte més aviat administratiu i de grans edificis quan de sobte em trobo una nena amb vestit tradicional sortint d'un temple allà al mig...i clar jo que hi vaig entrar directament i un cop a dins estava ple de famílies amb canalla petita, tots vestits amb kimono (nenes) i hakana (nens)...resulta que estaven celebrant el festival Shichigosan (literalment ¨7-5-3¨), el festival dels nens que se celebra als voltants del 15-Nov. Les famílies de nens de 5 o 7 anys i nenes de 3 o 7 anys, van al temple local per demanar que tinguin un futur sa i segur. Aquestes edats són considerades molt importants en la cultura japonesa i encara avui dia és una tradició molt arrelada...i per un estranger ignorant com jo un espectacle molt divertit i interessant...els nens vestits de forma exquisida i els pares i avis tirant-se fotos ben orgullosos i rebossant felicitat...un gran descobriment! 


Last saturday I was in one of this particular situations...hanging around Tokyo by bike, in Akasaka, an administrative district with mostly skyscrapers, suddenly I saw a girl dressed with traditional clothing going out from a shrine...and of course I headed there immediately and once inside it was packed with families with children, all dressed with kimono (girls) and hakana (boys)...it turned out they were celebrating the Shichigosan festival (translated as "7-5-3"), the festival of children which is held around Nov 15 every year. Families with five-year and seven-year old boys and three-year and seven-year old girls, go to the local shrine to pray for a healthy and safe future of the kids.  Apparently these ages are very important in the japanese culture and still nowadays this is a very popular tradition...and for an ignorant foreigner as me a great sight with priceless moments...the kids dressed perfectly and their parents and grandparents taking pictures with pride and joy...a very nice discovery!